Amanda rode the spotted cat

from the time she could crawl,

bounced her diapered bottom

on his carved Guatemalan spine.

Her shrieks of glee spilled out windows

through lilacs and pines

on each wild ride.

She fell in love with my Guatemalan

pouch, the perfect size for age three,

so I added a woven strap, Hershey kisses,

six pennies, a small wooden bear.

Although she's grown now

I see a child with flying hair

waving her gaudy purse,

riding the mythical beast

into her wide-open world.

Biography

Patricia Wellingham-Jones, former psychology researcher/writer/editor, has been published in journals, newspapers, anthologies, and online. Her most recent books are Don‚t Turn Away: Poems About Breast Cancer, Labyrinth: Poems & Prose, Apple Blossoms at Eye Level and Lummox Press Little Red Book series, A Gathering Glance. She lives in northern California.